1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photoelectric electrode capable of absorbing light energy, which at least includes a conductive substrate (an inorganic or organic polymer), one or more semiconductor particle-containing film with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) skeleton.
The present invention also relates to a hydrogen generation device, which includes a photoelectric electrode capable of absorbing light energy composed of a conductive substrate and one or more semiconductor particle-containing film with a PTFE skeleton, a water tank, and a hydrogen collecting device tank. In the hydrogen generation device, the photoelectric electrode can also be immersed into a sensitizing dye bath to absorb the dye, so as to form a photoelectric electrode capable of absorbing full spectrum light energy, thereby fabricating the hydrogen generation device. The present invention also provides a dye-sensitized solar cell, which includes the photoelectric electrode capable of absorbing full spectrum light energy formed by immersing the photoelectric electrode into a sensitizing dye bath to absorb the dye, an electrolyte, and a counter electrode.
The present invention also provides a non-dye-sensitized solar cell, which is formed by mixing semiconductor nano-particles and PTFE to obtain a film, combining the film with a conductive substrate, and then sintering.
The present invention also provides a polymer film solar cell, which is formed by mixing semiconductor nano-particles, wires, or tubes with PTFE to obtain a film and sintering, then coating the film with a conductive polymer, and combining the film with a conductive substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
A photoelectrode is mainly used for absorbing light radiation and converting it into photovoltage/photocurrent. The electrode includes a transparent conductive substrate, and an absorption layer for converting light energy into photovoltage/photocurrent. The photoelectrode and a counter electrode form an optoelectronic component. The optoelectronic component may be a hydrogen generation device, and various solar cells. As it is necessary to convert the solar energy penetrated to the absorption layer into photovoltage/photocurrent, at least one electrode must be a transparent conductive substrate, but not limited to one electrode, both of the two electrodes can be transparent conductive substrates.
The conventional photoelectric electrodes of solar cells are mainly made of silicon (monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and amorphous silicon). In addition, cadmium sulfide (CdS) photoelectric electrode, cadmium arsenide (CdTe) photoelectric electrode, copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) photoelectric electrode, dye-sensitized photoelectric electrode, and organic polymer photoelectric electrode etc. all improve the efficiency of the solar cells continuously.
Currently, the fabrication of the photoelectric electrode mainly includes coating a conductive glass with semiconductor nano-particles; grinding a mixture of semiconductor particles and an adhesive such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene oxide (PEO), cellulose, and alkylphenol polyethoxylate non-ion surfactants, and a dispersant such as acetylacetone (AcAc), or ethanol; and knife coating, printing, pyrolysis, or spray coating the mixture on the conductive glass coated with semiconductor nano-particles. However, the fabrication method has disadvantages that the thickness is not easily increased or the film is likely cracked after increasing the thickness, thus deteriorating the efficiency of the electrode. Furthermore, the adhesive and dispersant are used to fabricate the electrode, after sintering at a high temperature (about 500° C.), the adhesive and dispersant are volatilized. The combination between the crystals of the semiconductor might have defects, and thus the structure is fragile, the chemical resistance and durability are poor, and its structural strength is insufficient, which are fatal to the photoelectric electrode requiring durability. For the usages of the photoelectric electrode, the energy band of the semiconductor crystal is always required to be modified, so as to improve the efficiency of the electrode. Therefore, it is very necessary to perform a multilayer processing. However, it is very difficult to perform the multilayer processing due to the insufficient structural strength. The problems and the disadvantages can be alleviated in the present invention.